One Last Moment
by DarkHybridChild
Summary: [Spoilerish, Anime set. RyoxJun mentioning. Slightly AUish.] It's Kaiser Ryo's last night at the Duel Academy, and he spends it taking care of the most important person in his heart: His child.


**Title:** One Last Moment  
**Genres:** Fluff, romance, generalness.  
**Warning:** Um. Some spoilerage? And hinting/foreshadowing of the future.  
**Dedicated to:** Aruxia/Suki

**DHC:** This is a fic I'd gotten the idea for yesterday when hearing a song. My Ryo and Suki's Jun are together and Jun's pregnant. I had to write this out. w; Soo yeah.  
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The loud crying of a child woke Marufuji Ryo from his sleep. He hastily sat upright and pulled the covers back, sliding out easily as he, almost rutinely, marched over to the small desk on the far way and grabbed something off of it. Turning from there, he slowly approached the large crib that was there in his room with a soft smile as his blue eyes took in the sight of the crying babe from the moonlight.

Smoky grey eyes glistened with the light as they gazed up at him and brightened even a moment later as they locked. Ryo bent over the rung and easily picked the child up and got them cradled in his arms, the child's crying dying down and they snuggled into his embrace. Another small smile made it to the teen's face as he took the bottle--the object he grabbed from the desk--and started to feed the child.

Eagerly, the child's mouth latched to the nipple of the bottle and suckled greedily, eyes closing with happy content at the prospect of food which caused a light chuckle to come from the Kaiser's lips. He rocked the child, walked slowly over to the large sliding glass door that kept him from stepping out onto the balcony. He sighed heavily as he looked out at the view.

He was going to miss this.

It was his last night here at Duel Academy.

One handedly, he managed to open the lock and slide the door open and stepped out into the fresh night air and onto the balcony. The child didn't notice or care, cooing and making it's noises as they sucked their bottle. It brought a sad smile to the teen's lips. He wasn't going to be able to see the child much longer for a while.

This child of his was going to have to stay. He wouldn't be able to take them with him once he leaved. Not only would it raise one too many questions, but it would be even harder to take care of them. At least, this way, he'd know Sho and the others would take care of them. He winced for a moment, a pained look flashing over his eyes. Jun...

Manjoume acted a lot like he did when he first met the teen, now. He acted like he didn't even want to be around him. Or their child, for that matter. Something other than Jun was there, or something heavy was weighing on him, he could sense it. Because he knew Jun would never turn his back on either of them.

Ryo continued to stare out at the view for a moment longer before chuckling softly as he noticed the bottle was empty and the child was nestling themselves farther down. He took the bottle and set it on the small outside table on the balcony. "I sometimes find it hard to believe you're my child since you eat like Yuki." He murmured softly, amused as he shifted the child in his arms and lifted them, letting the child rest their head on his shoulder as he patted their back and rocked slowly.

After a few moments, the child let out a burp and sighed, nuzzling into the Kaiser's shoulder. A few more burps later, the man shifted the child again back to the way they were before and watched with silent affection and wonder as the little one rubbed their eyes and yawned, making some tired cooing noises and their grey eyes closed.

Another smile made it to the Kaiser's lips and he quietly started to hum, swaying side to side slowly as he rocked the child. Quietly, Ryo opened his mouth to sing to the child.

"May the good lord be with you down every road you roam," He hummed lightly, gently stroking the child's cherub cheek lovingly. "And may sunshine and happiness surround you when you're far from home."

"And may you grow to be proud, dignified, and true." The Kaiser gently ruffled the soft, dark aqua locks on the babe's head. The song reminded him of his mother, she sang it to him when he was a child. "And do unto others as you'd have done to you," He tapped the baby on their cute button nose, earning a chuckle when the child's face scrunched up a little.

"Be courageous and be brave, and in my heart you'll always stay forever young." He stared out at the vast scene that surrounded Duel Academy with a dazed look, smiling wider and sang a little louder. "May good fortune be with you, may your guiding light be strong. Build a stairway to heaven with a prince or a vagabond." He hoped dearly this child of his would grow up to be great. Kind, loving, but strong and never give up.

"And may you never love in vain, and my heart you will remain forever young. Forever young. Forever young..." He gently lifted the baby up and kissed the crown of their head, going back to rocking the child. "And when you finally fly away, I'll be hoping that I served you well." He closed his eyes, sighing heavily, stopping the song for a moment to take a shaky breath, looking forlorn and sad for a moment. "For all the wisdom of a lifetime, no one can ever tell."

"But whatever road you choose, I'm right behind you, win or lose. Forever young. Forever young." He smiled again, knuckles brushing against his little one's cheek with tenderness, watching their now-sleeping expression, the soft, even rise and fall of their chest and their small frame. It still still hard to believe sometimes that this small creature was his own flesh and blood. But he was proud, and no matter if the child grew up to be something other than a duelist, or held no interest in anything, or even if they made bad choices--though he wished dearly they wouldn't--he'd always be proud of this young one.

"Forever young. Forever young." He closed his eyes and shifted the baby once more, holding them up and felt the baby's head bury into the crook of his neck, tiny, chubby fingers curling to hold onto his night shirt, a sigh of contentment sounding from them. Ryo smiled once more, overcome with love for this little one, he knew it would be hard to part with them. "Forever young." He sang softly, gently patting the baby on the back, the other holding them safely to his body, swaying side to side gently.

"Forever young..." He whispered, closing his eyes as as he felt a shudder run through him as he exhaled shakily, emotion welling up inside of him. Marufuji Ryo could hardly bare the thought he would be leaving, and more importantly, leaving this precious, precious child behind. He could feel unshed tears in the corner of his eyes, but held them back, holding the child closely with as much protection and love, as tight as he dared without hurting the little one, turning his head to kiss the little one's temple again, biting his lip.

Unbeknown to Ryo, someone was watching from the doorway of the Kaiser's room, grey eyes watching the scene with a longing, but happy look. Manjoume Jun dared not to disturb the older teenager with his last night with their child and Duel Academy. But it squeezed his heart he couldn't say goodbye as well. He only had most control over his actioning at night. During the day, it seemed like he slipped into a dazed state, he could feel something other than himself guiding, directing him. Not to mention he had alot of other things weighing down on him...

He didn't always remember what happened, but he could tell he'd somehow had hurt his lover, but he couldn't apologize or explain it, so he stayed away. He couldn't even be around his own child, for he was afraid something terrible would happen to them. So he trusted Sho and the others to take care of their young one, knowing most of all Sho would be the one to take more or less the full responsibility due to the promise he made him and his brother.

Biting his lip, Jun cast one last glance at the two, Ryo's back turned to him still, he could still hear the faint humming of the older teenager and smiled sadly. "I love you, both of you..." He whispered softly, before he turned and shut the door silently, walking back down the hall to go back to his own room, heavy hearted but at the same time, happy.

Ryo shivered, the hairs on the back of his neck standing and he turned, looking, but the room behind him was empty, nothing out of place. He frowned lightly, he could have sworn he'd heard, or sensed someone there. With a light shrug, the duelist walked back inside and closed the door behind him, walking back over to his bed. He grabbed some of the pillows and made a small enclosed space and set the baby in it, before going back to the crib and pulled the blanket out and returned, placing it over them.

He smiled fully and stroked the baby's cheek before climbing into bed himself and pulled the covers up and laid back, rolling onto his side and curled protectively to seal off the closed space that he'd left open from the pillow barricade. He placed his hand on the baby and closed his eyes, yawning.

He was leaving tomorrow to become a Pro-Duelist. He graduated from the Duel Academy. And he was going to miss this. Miss the others, miss Jun, especially. But it was going to kill him to say goodbye with this young one that carried the Marufuji blood in them. He briefly wondered if this was how his family felt letting him and his brother fly free on their own.

But he knew no matter how far away they flew, that love would always be constant and there. Comforted with this thought, he found the clench in his heart loosen. Yes, he'd always love this little one no matter how far away they were. And they'd always be there in his heart and mind. Satisfied and feeling more at ease, Ryo allowed his eyes to close and his mind to rest, falling back asleep.

Marufuji Ryo left the next day, head held high with no regrets. Even as he left his baby brother behind and in his arms, the little one he loved with everything he had.

**Owari.**

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DHC: Ta-da! I never defined the gender of the child for a reason. But anyway, hope you enjoyed it!


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